District 87 plans to build a new adaptive playground at Stevenson Elementary School to better accommodate students with disabilities.
The District 87 school board approved the plan during Wednesday night’s meeting. Stevenson has a high percentage of students in need of better accommodations to be able to use playground facilities. The equipment will also be available to the wider public at times.
“We want this to be something that's positive for our whole community, but certainly for our kids over at Stevenson,” said District 87 Superintendent David Mouser.
Minnesota-based Landscape Structures was awarded the contract. District 87 and the City of Bloomington will share the costs of the first $750,000 associated with the project, which is expected to be completed this fall. State Rep. Sharon Chung secured the project a $400,000 Economic Opportunity Grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
The playground furthers the District 87 Dynamic Learning Program, which supports specialized learning environments for students with diverse needs and learning styles.
Mouser said the project gives these students the chance to go out and do the same thing their peers can, “which is a chance to go out at recess and get to play on equipment that is designed especially for them.”
Accessibility features include a 12-foot ramp with guardrails and curbs, a deck link with handrails and a braille panel on the playground.
“We're going to have a playground that every single child can go over and be part of whether they can get out of a wheelchair or not,” said Mouser. “There's going to be equipment that's going to be adaptive, that they're going to be able to utilize.”
Mouser added Chung also agreed to help fund a “desperately needed” playground upgrade at Bent Elementary School.
